


Black Cat and a Cadillac.

by timid_turtle_timi



Series: Mystery Squad [3]
Category: Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012)
Genre: Crossover, I didn't do great with this summary, Road Trips, just a little, kind if gory in the beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 10:23:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7311133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timid_turtle_timi/pseuds/timid_turtle_timi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coraline Jones will stop at nothing to get the answers that she needs to move on from her lingering fear after defeating the Other Mother. She follows the advice of Wybie Lovat, starting her search in New Orleans and locating a witch that may have the information she needs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Black Cat and a Cadillac.

**Author's Note:**

> I should note that I've never actually been to the places in this fic, but I'm not terribly concerned about accuracy.   
> It figures that this was the beginning out of the three I've done that was the hardest for me to write, but I was unbelievably sick while I wrote most of this, so it's a little rushed and definitely not my best, but it fit in with the timeline of my main plot line so I'm satisfied.   
> This series is written out of order. The Pines beginning arc I have yet to write comes before Coraline meeting Norman which would be around the same time of Wirt's last therapy session, and then Norman and Coraline leaving for Gravity Falls would happen after Wirt meets Dipper for the first time. Most of these beginning stories are first meetings, but the body mod duo (as I call Corline and Norm) will be meeting up with Wirt and the Pines in the main plot line after I write Dipper and Mabel's beginning arc. Yes I'm confused by my own timelines too, I'll be ordering them as soon as I'm done with the last beginning arc and then I'll be merging them all into the same fic.

Coraline shivered as she felt the winter chill seep through her socks and into her bones. A distant humming danced through her mind, filling her with fear as she caught sight of a tall, familiar shadow on the wall. She could tell that she was dreaming, she knew there wasn’t any way that the Other Mother could come into her world, she knew it had been years since her time in the Other World, she knew she wasn’t a kid anymore, and yet she couldn’t help but doubt herself as her feet carried her into the kitchen. 

She found the insect-like form of the Other Mother, standing over a boiling pot of scarlet liquid. Parts of children littered the counter and tabletop, sending a wave of nausea that knocked Coraline to her knees as she suppressed a fearful whine. Their blood stained the floor, unidentifiable masses of dripping viscera hung from chairs. Eye sockets dribbled with fluid, leaving droplets on pitch black buttons stitched neatly into their centers. The smell of mildew, and burning, rotting flesh brought bile up her throat as she took in the bloody scene. She could hear a low, wet, gasping from one of the hunched forms, and she supposed that the child had a few more minutes of suffering. The thought brought a small whimper from her lips. 

At the sound of her distress, the Other Mother turned from her meal, grinning maliciously down at Coraline. “You’re just in time for supper dear.” She said. Her voice was cheerful, the joy and satisfaction of her meal sent a violent tremor through Coraline’s crumpled form. The Other Mother strode forward, a box in hand; her pointed heels clacking on the wooden floorboards as Coraline remain frozen on the floor. 

The box contained two matching buttons, a weathered spool of thread, and a rusty, pointed needle still glistening with blood. “Now why don’t I take care of you, and you can join the rest of the children.” A cold path traced the line of her cheekbone as the Other Mother ran a single metal finger over her flesh. “You can stay here, with me, forever.” In a flash the needle was in her grasp, and as it sank into her cornea Coraline let out a blood curdling screech. 

Sweat poured down Coraline’s back as she bolted upright. Her breathing was strained as she inhaled deeply to calm herself. Her eye still felt funny, a tingling around her eyelid jarring her as she blinked to dispel it. At her side Cat watched with caution as she ran her hands through her sweat soaked hair. Closing her eyes she concentrated on the thumping in her chest. Feeling it pound against her ribcage, her lungs aching from her distress. 

Lying down on her side, she pulled Cat against her stomach, stroking his fur as he mewled at her in irritation. A bead of perspiration dripped down her cheek, causing another hard shake as the sight of the Other Mother’s metal hands flashed in her mind. 

Coraline surveyed the small motel room carefully, staring at the hideous pattern printed on the wallpaper, counting the stripes of neon light that cast shadows on the thin curtains in front of the blinds, and picking at the itchy cotton comforter that she lie under. She didn’t even need to be in the Pink Palace to dream of the horrors behind the walls, and she cursed the thought of still being plagued by its hold on her. 

Cat remained patient as she soothed herself, crawling away to rest at her feet after she ceased to run her hands down his back. The weight of his body comforted her in the way it always did when she had a nightmare, and she was grateful that she had snuck him into the room. She acknowledged that he had his reservations about her trip, but as her date to leave edged closer and closer he agreed to follow where she went. 

They landed in a motel after driving nearly twenty hours. Coraline’s body had cramped, her energy depleted after keeping herself awake by any means necessary. Wybie had protested aggressively when she phoned in to give an update on her whereabouts. “You could have at least pulled over at a truck stop and slept in your car!” he scolded, his voice crackled over the public phone line. “You do realize you could have just gone right to sleep while you were driving, and driven yourself right off the road and died right? You actually know that’s a thing that happens?” Coraline rolled her eyes, though her friend couldn’t see this.

“Stop being dramatic. I’m fine, I stayed awake, and I’m staying in a motel tonight.” She snapped. Her temper was short that day from the lack of sleep. Coraline heard Wybie’s tired sigh from the receiver. 

“Just be more careful okay? I know you wanted to put as much distance between you and the apartment, but potentially killing yourself is going too far.” He shot back. They’d had a similar discussion before she’d left, but for the most part she had chosen to ignore his overly anxious fussing. She supposed he could sense that she was tired of being lectured, his tone softened from scolding and worried to something more rational. “Look I know I said I’d fully support your need to find answers, and I still do, but if you’re being reckless with your life then I’m going to have to back out and tell your parents where you’re going so they can find you.” There was seriousness in his threat that Coraline could both loathe and appreciate. 

Coraline tensed sighing dramatically, earning a quiet laugh from her friend. “Fine.” She relented. “I’ll be more careful. Just don’t mention anything to them, please?” a smile wormed its way onto her face at the scandalized gasp from his end.

“I’m truly wounded that as your best friend you would think that I would rat you out to your very worried parents about your schemes. For shame Jonesy. For shame.” 

“Yeah, well I figured you’d finally get me back for taking your cat.”

Wybie snorted into the phone. “I really should. I didn’t think you were serious when you said you were taking him with you across the entire freaking country.” He teased.

“Well I needed someone to come with me, and he doesn’t talk too much unlike some retired stalker I know.” She quipped feeling the tension easing down in their conversation. 

She would have brought Wybie with her if she could have, but he needed to stay and manage the Pink Palace, and she understood that he had more responsibility to that place than even his best friend. Not an hour had passed since she loaded up her car the night she left that she hadn’t missed his paranoid wisecracks and banter. He was the only reason she was able to make her trip, helping her sneak out of her apartment, rolling her car down the road far enough to start the engine without her parents waking, and keeping her secret of where she was going and what she was doing. 

As terrible a liar as he was she knew it would be hard for him to keep himself in check, especially with her most likely agitated mother on his tail, but she needed to have someone that knew where she was and she was more than thankful that he agreed.

They kept their call short, and she promised that she would call him when she reached her next stop. In turn he promised to keep feigning ignorance to her whereabouts. After being awake for more than thirty hours, she slept deeper than she had been able to for years that night.

The next morning she was wide awake and determined to reach Louisiana with only one more stop before she landed in New Orleans. In the city she would meet up with Wybie’s grandmother’s cousin Roux who by his words “Knows everything there is to know about darkness.” She was still laughing over the determination in his expression when he told her that. Coraline didn’t know if Roux would have any of the answers she sought, but granted it was a better start than her first plan to just roam from city to city. 

Lying in her second motel room now, she could feel her anticipation growing stronger and stronger as the hours ticked by. They were just six hours away from reaching their destination, and the thought of actually finding what she was looking for excited her. She had half a mind to get up and leave that very moment, but the fluorescent 3:00 A.M. staring at her from the digital clock made her stay put. She could hear Cat’s low rumbled snores from the bottom of the bed, and crickets just outside the thin walls of the room.   
Coraline let her eyes drift closed and allowed sleep wash over her again. 

___

Having to spend more time on the road when she woke up wasn’t the most exciting prospect, but Coraline was determined to make the most of it. Open roads filtered to civilization within the first few hours. She glanced at the map taped to her dash to double check her exit. Satisfied, she followed the highlighted road into New Orleans, passing by suburbs and old buildings alike to the heart of the city. 

Wybie’s vague directions were written on a crumpled piece of paper she had stuck to her steering wheel. His chicken scratch was only half legible, and she considered it a miracle when she rolled up to a shambled building, a fluorescent sign with the eye of providence glowing bright yellow in the window. La sorcière rouge was etched into a cracking wooden sign that hung above the door. 

A bell rang as Coraline pushed open the door open on its creaking hinges, the heavy smell of sandalwood hung in the air as quiet music flit through the small space. At the counter stood an elderly woman, her clothes stood vibrantly against her dark skin, and she greeted Coraline with a knowing look. “Are you the little friend that Wyborn told me to expect?” she asked looking her up and down stopping at Cat who padded alongside her.   
Coraline steeled herself against the woman’s intense gaze, “I’m Coraline,” she stated moving up to the counter. “Wybie told me that you could tell me something about the Pink Palace.”

The woman sighed, beckoning Coraline to follow her as she moved toward a doorway blocked off by hanging beads. “Wyborn told me over the phone that you had questions about another world. One that his great aunt disappeared into.” The room they entered held a table with a dark purple cloth over it, and two chairs sitting at opposite sides. She motioned for the younger girl to sit as she set a kettle onto a stove in the kitchenette off to the far side. Coraline looked around the small apartment at the cluttered shelves filled with jars of what seemed to be herbs and various knick knacks. In the corner stood a glass case filled with small taxidermy animals. 

Cat hopped onto the table with a wary look in her direction, but she chose to ignore him as Roux took the empty seat across from her. “I’m sorry to say,” she said gently. “But Wyborn puts too much faith in my knowledge of things that don’t belong to our world.” She gestured with a wrinkled hand around the room. “I run a shop that makes charms for people that need them, and while I have seen many a strange thing in my time, I don’t have the answers that you need to move on.” 

Coraline’s shoulders sagged as disappointment weighed heavily in her chest. She had come all this way for nothing. 

Roux took notice of Coraline’s discouragement and held up a hand. “Don’t give up hope just yet. I said that I did not have the answers you need, but I may know where you can find them.” Coraline’s eyes widened as she leaned forward in her seat. 

“Where do I need to go? Is it very far? What do I need to find?” she fired off her questions quickly, eager to seek out whatever or whoever Roux knew about. The kettle began to whistle in the background.

The elderly woman placed her hands over Coraline’s. “Calm yourself, I’ll tell you everything you need. But first I’d like to make some tea and read your palm.” She said softly before rising to take the kettle off the stove. 

Impatience bubbled in Coraline’s stomach as she watched the tea being made for them. As Cat nibbled gently on her fingers to calm her, she ran her hand over his back to still her jumbled nerves. Roux returned with two steaming mugs, “Let me see your palm.” 

Roux gazed at the lines on her palm for what seemed to be hours, tracing her fingertips along the ridges and calluses that had formed over the years. Coraline started to fidget under the elder’s scrutiny though the attention wasn’t on her face she still felt almost exposed as the reading progressed. Roux sighed with finality as she released Coraline’s wrist. “Be careful of your impatience.” She advised taking a sip of her tea. “You’ll need to go to Boston and find Margret Maywilde. She’s known as a white witch that frequents an herbal medicine shop in one of the art districts. But you must be patient.” She slipped a card from her sleeve into Coraline’s palm. It only had an address on the front, and a yellow printed eye of providence on the back. A grave expression overtook her soft features. “The answers you seek may not lead to the ending you hope for.” 

___

“How are you going to get to Boston? Do you even have enough gas money to do that?” Wybie’s voice was slightly muffled and distracted over the phone, as if he were pressing it against his face while he moved around. 

Coraline groaned and smacked her head softly onto the glass of the phone booth. “I have enough if I sleep in the car. I just don’t know if I’m going on some wild goose chase.” She muttered. A quiet sigh escaped her as she thought about Roux’s words. What if she really wouldn’t find what she was looking for? And if she did, would it really bring her the closure she needed to be released from her fear? The silence between the two of them dragged on as Coraline resigned herself to defeat. 

“Stop doing that.” Wybie snapped into her ear.

“Stop what?”

“Quit wallowing in self pity. The Coraline I know may whine a lot-”

“Hey!”

“But she doesn’t take pity, from anyone, even if it’s herself. So stop standing around and do something about it.” He stated. “Just worry about getting to Boston. You have savings from your piercing job to get home right? You’re parents are worried now, but I don’t think you calling and asking for cash would fly. I can almost hear your mom now: You got yourself into this, now you will get yourself out of it. That’s what she would say.” He chuckled.

Coraline found herself laughing with him as her dark cloud dispersed. “She never was the type to bail me out when I got in trouble.” She said once their laughter had ceased. 

“Remember when we got on the wrong bus?”

“And she refused to pick us up when we were two hours outside of town? How could I forget?” 

They talked until the machine called for more change and said their goodbyes. Coraline felt lighter than she had before talking to Wybie, and as she turned the key in the ignition she felt more determined than ever. 

__

Driving another ten hours after sleeping in her car, while a cheap option, was more uncomfortable in reality than she had first envisioned. Coraline hobbled on stiff knees down a long street of odd shops and coffee houses to the address printed on the card Roux had given her. Cat had followed her for a few blocks before sprinting in the direction of an alleyway, while miffed by her companion’s abandonment; she trusted that he would meet her back at the Cadillac. The springtime air chilled her as she walked, nestling herself further into the soft leather of her jacket, picking up her pace when she got closer to the address. 

When Coraline did find the building she had been looking for she had to check it a few more times to be completely sure. The white, modern, coffee shop type store didn’t look like the kind of place Coraline imagined someone who was considered a witch would run. Though she wasn’t sure if her dingy, creepy, cottage-like vision should have been what she was expecting either.

Walking in, Coraline was met with a burst of warm air, and the soft chatter of patrons that were scattered around the store. Every piece of furniture from the shelves to the couches in the middle of the room was white; the combination of white walls and white tile floors gave Coraline a headache. For the lack of color in the décor, dozens upon dozens of vibrantly colored bottles and boxes sat on the shelves. She could see young employees in white aprons scurrying to and from the counter in the back as they helped customers. One of which approached her with a bright smile. 

“Hello! Welcome to Spellbound, my name is Kody; did you need help finding anything today?” Kody’s curls seemed to bounce with each word that she spoke, her enthusiasm leaking through her eyes like tears. 

Coraline handed her the card that Roux gave her. “I’m looking for Margret Maywilde. Does she work here?” she asked. 

Immediately Kody’s smile widened. “Maggie owns the store, just make yourself comfortable and I’ll pop into the back and tell her you’re here!” With that the girl swiftly wove her way through the store, disappearing behind a white curtain behind the checkout counter. 

She took a short walk around the store, looking at all the brightly colored bottles. Some held creams, while others contained oils, upon further inspection the boxes contained dried herbs and bath salts. She made it up and down most of the shelves when Kody approached her once again. 

“She said you could go back and see her, just go behind the counter and through the curtain. The employees behind the counter are expecting you.” 

Coraline nodded politely before excitedly making her way toward the counter. Her heart began to thump in her chest, increasing in intensity with every step. She was anxious as to whether or not she would find what she wanted to here, or if she would be disappointed once again. Either way she doubted it would deter her for very long, she had come too far to give up, but she was more impatient than ever to reach her goal. 

Sliding the white curtain back, Coraline was greeted with the sight of several cluttered desks. The surfaces littered with both filled and empty bottles, scattered herbs, and what seemed to be hundreds of papers filled with words and numbers that she couldn’t make sense of. Behind them all at a larger table, stood a tall young woman with dark hair that fell in waves. Dark brown eyes glanced at Coraline for a moment as the woman continued to mix a poultice. “Just a minute, I’m almost finished.” 

Coraline watched as the poultice turned from a light mint to a darker green as the woman folded in several different powders to the mix. When it was deemed ready it was placed to the side, and finally she turned to Coraline sticking out her hand with a smile. “My name is Maggie, I own Spellbound. The card you received was from Roux right?” 

Coraline nodded as she shook hands with Maggie. The other woman’s caramel skin was much warmer compared to her own, but Coraline suspected that it was due to more than just the heat of the shop. Her words were jumbled as she answered. “She told me to get answers, I mean that you might be able to help me?” she explained. Maggie nodded, gently guiding her to sit in a chair amidst the cluttered desks. 

“Why don’t you start from the beginning? Then I’ll tell you what I can.” Maggie’s tone was gentle, and as Coraline took a breath she smiled warmly. 

“It was about eight years ago…” 

___

By the time Coraline had finished her story the shop had closed, leaving the two of them alone in the store. When the last of her employees left for the night, Maggie bought her out to sit on a couch. “What you encountered sounds to me like some type of evil spirit.” She had said as Coraline sipped at a cup of tea. “They can start from anywhere, past sins, heartbreak, tragedy, anything that left an extremely negative impact.” She continued with a thoughtful look on her face. “But I’ve never heard of anything that could manipulate an entire world before. It sounds more like a demon, but even they have their own limits of how far they can take advantage of the world around them.” Maggie looked at Coraline sheepishly. “To be honest I don’t know what you could have experienced, and I don’t really know anyone that would be able to give you the answers you want.” 

For the second time, disappointment crushed Coraline’s spirit. Her stature sagged as she held her face in her hands. She could feel frustrated tears forming at the corners of her eyes as Maggie tried to comfort her. But Coraline’s dismay began to fuel her resolve. She met Maggie’s eyes with defiance. “Is there anything I can do, anywhere I can go to find something? Even if it’s the smallest clue, I’ll take it. I’ll do anything.” She stated wiping her tears away. 

Maggie’s eyes brightened a little. “It’s a bit of a long shot, but I can try and look into your fortunes for you.” She offered. Coraline couldn’t help but grimace a bit, but she didn’t know what else she could do at that point. 

The older girl led her back to the room they were in before, clearing one of the desks and retrieving a pack of worn cards. She spread them out on the table, “Pick three.” She ordered. Coraline chose three relatively close together, watching with slight apprehension as Maggie flipped them over. 

Maggie regarded the cards carefully, and then reached across the table. “Can I see your palm?” Coraline complied. Maggie’s scrutiny was far less intimidating than Roux’s, but she could feel herself squirming in her seat. 

Suddenly, Maggie dropped Coraline’s hand as if it had burned her; she looked just past Coraline before quickly bustling about her shelves taking down a map, a marker and some twine. Coraline could hear her mumbling to herself in a hypnotic chant, and as she called out to her, it seemed that Maggie was either unable to hear her or wasn’t even aware that she had company anymore. Maggie pinned several thumbtacks into the map, wrapping the twine around each until they formed a triangle over an area just outside of Boston. With her marker in hand, Maggie drew one X in the middle of the triangle. Seemingly freed from her trance, Maggie’s shoulders released their earlier tension as she turned to Coraline. She spoke as if she could read Coraline’s questions from her mind. “I won’t tell you what I saw.” She said with a gleeful twinkle in her eyes. “But I will say this; you have someone looking out for you.” 

As Coraline left the store, Maggie pressed Roux’s card back in her hand. On the front below her address was a name in neat cursive. Norman Babcock. She looked into Maggie’s eyes, spotting the same ancient wisdom that she felt from Roux. “Blithe Hollow is just half an hour away. Get some rest and stay safe, you’ll find your next clue.” With that she closed the doors to the shop and latched them before striding off into the cold Boston night. 

When she got back to the Cadillac Cat was already asleep, and she wondered as she lay in the back if she even told Maggie her name. 

___

Blithe Hollow had the same exact feeling that the town the Pink Palace was built in. It was tiny, old, and suffocating as Coraline rolled up and parked on the main street. She felt eyes on her back as she strolled down the street with Cat on her heels. Discomfort crawled up and down her skin as she avoided the gaze of almost everyone on the sidewalk with her. She had no idea how she would go about locating the person that Maggie had sent her to find, but she supposed she might have to stop avoiding the locals to do it. 

She waited until she was out of the main part of the town and in the suburbs; there she started scouting for someone who might know who she was looking for. For the most part she steered away from the various groups of children that frequented the street, figuring that she would look suspicious if she approached. It took her longer than she thought to find anyone that looked to be her age, but half a mile down the road she watched as an older teen retrieved his mail. Stepping quickly she approached the teen. “Hey kid! Can I ask you something?” she asked, jogging up to the driveway. 

The teen looked startled as she approached him; he had bright eyes, and unruly red hair that almost reminded her of Wybie. He held his mail to his large stomach as he appraised her, but smiled joyfully as he spotted Cat. “That’s a cute cat.” He stated, bending over himself slightly to get a better look. “You’re not really from around here are you?” he asked as he let Cat sniff at his pudgy fingers. 

Coraline smiled a bit as the two of them interacted. “We just came to look for someone. Do you know anyone named Norman Babcock?” she asked.

The ginger looked at her abruptly, grinning as he stood straight. “Norman’s my best friend! We went to the same school together.” The boy’s smile diminished a bit. “But I’m sorry to tell you, Norman moved to Portland about a month ago.” He said sadly, watching with mild concern as Coraline sighed, running her hands through her hair. 

“This is the worst.” she muttered to herself. She had just come thousands of miles in the opposite direction of where she needed to go, and more frustrating still was the fact that it was so close to home. Cat rubbed his side against her shins, and the ginger teen placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. 

“Hey, don’t give up.” He said gently. Coraline looked at him as he gave her a gentle grin. “I can give you the name of his place if you want. He owns a tattoo shop, and I’m sure he’d be happy to have a visitor.” He offered kindly. Coraline could only nod as she followed him toward the house. “I’m Neil by the way, you should say hi to Norman for me once you find him. We talk online and video chat a lot, but I think it would still make him happy, and he might not be as awkward if he knows we’re friends!” he rambled on as he scrawled the name of Norman’s shop on a post-it. 

“I’ll be sure to tell him.” Coraline promised as she took the note. A thoughtful look passed over Neil’s face, “If you’re going to see Norman, could you give him something for me?” he asked a bit sheepishly, reaching into his pocket and handing her a sealed envelope. Something slid back and forth inside. “I was going to mail it to him, but I think it’ll be safer if someone actually hands it to him.” Coraline nodded, giving the redhead a small grin. Neil grinned back at her, giving her another boost to finish her trip.

___

Wybie had laughed at her situation for a solid six and a half minutes when he found out where she was going next. For his insensitivity to her irritation she had hung up on him and continued on her way, only deciding to call him once she was back across Oregon state lines. 

“Are you going to come back for a while before you find this Norman guy?” he asked when she said she was half an hour outside of town. 

She sucked in a breath. “No, but I think I will call my parents after this and tell them where I’ve been this whole time. I’m not sure if I’m done wandering around yet, so I think I’m just going to wait until I know for sure. I just don’t want them to worry so much anymore.” 

“I understand, if you came back I’m not sure they’d let you leave again either.” Wybie said with a laugh. Coraline joined him.

“Are you kidding? They’d lock me up and demand answers to the same questions I’ve been answering for years.” She mused. “I’ll at least tell them to let you off the hook.” 

“Thanks, I don’t know how much longer I can last with your mom grilling me anymore.” 

“Call you when I find this guy?”

“You’d better Jonesy. Have fun talking to your parents.” 

She ended the call, hesitating for a while before slotting change back into the phone and dialing the apartment’s landline. The monotone ringing put a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. There was a click, and then the tired voice of her mother sounded from the receiver. “Hello?” 

Coraline swallowed the dry lump that formed in her throat. “Mom? It’s Coraline.” She said quietly.

Her mother was silent for just a moment before she snapped angrily, “Where have you been?! We woke up to an empty room, no note, your car was gone! I know you’ve had some issues lately, but running off in the middle of the night isn’t going to solve anything! Come home, now. We will be talking about your behavior as soon as your father comes home from work.” Her tone was clipped and cold, talking down to her like she was still a child. Coraline could imagine the way she was probably rubbing her head as a migraine set in. She steeled herself before answering.

“I’m not coming home yet.”

“What?”

Coraline took another breath, determined to stand her ground. “I can’t come home yet, there’s still something I need to do.” She could imagine the fuming expression on her mother’s face. “I’ll call when I find what I’m looking for, but I wanted you to know I was okay.”

“Coraline-” her mother sighed beginning her protest, but Coraline pressed on.

“Just hold on a minute. I know you guys don’t believe me, I don’t think I would either, but I need to figure things out.”

The stillness over the phone was almost sickening. Coraline’s stomach rolled in waves as she waited for her mother to answer her. The answering groan rattled in her ears, “Fine. Just, be careful okay? Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

Coraline smiled a bit at her mother’s prickly concern. “I’ll be okay. Can you lay off of Wybie? I think he’s starting to go insane.” Her mother scoffed. 

“I knew that he knew something. I’ll leave him alone, but I’m not happy with either of you. Do you understand me?”

“I understand.”

“Good. I have to go to work, so call me when you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”

The click over the phone was followed by the dial tone, and Coraline left the booth feeling slightly better than she had that morning. 

Portland’s art district was decidedly one of Coraline’s new favorite places. Lined with street artists, tattoo shops, and alternative clubs, she felt like she was home. The atmosphere put her at ease, even Cat seemed more comfortable as he perched himself over her shoulders. Finding Norman’s shop was a piece of cake, but it seemed that finding Norman himself would take a bit of time. The out to lunch sign taunted her from the window as she approached, and she swore lightly under her breath. She decided not to waste her time standing around the outside of the shop, instead opting to find something to eat.

She wandered down the street trying to find something that looked cheap and easy. Her mild annoyance at missing another clue still burning in the back of her mind as she imagined what Norman would be like. Based on the town he came from, she imagined the experience would be pretty underwhelming, that he would be some quiet kid that went to church every other Sunday and thought of himself as a Good Samaritan. Then again he owned a tattoo shop, and from Neil’s brief description, he specialized in horror. An image of a large muscular, heavily tattooed man flashed through her mind. The dramatic differences in her imagination made her laugh. If anything, he would probably be similar to Maggie or Roux with how her luck panned out, and she would be stuck decoding another eccentric’s clues. 

Back on the street, she mused whether or not Norman would be back in the shop yet. Her fingers traced over the envelope in her pocket. Neil was one of those people that trusted most people without a second thought, unlike Wybie; he didn’t seem to debate on whether she was a stalker or a serial killer before readily giving her his friends’ location when she needed it. If she was being honest she was nervous that Norman would think she was stalking him. Roux and Maggie had been connected from the start, and that made it easy. Now that she was here, she was flying blind, and she didn’t know what she would do if her trail ended here without so much as a clue to her next step. 

Coraline was lost in her thoughts, and wasn’t even aware of the voice calling out her name until a large hand clapped down on her shoulder. Her instincts kicked in, she took hold of the person’s wrist, pulling them forward and twisting until it was pinned to their back. Her supposed assailant was taller than she was, and she moved quickly to kick in the back of his right knee. The man fell to the ground with a yelp, still stunned over his sudden change in position. “What are you doing?” Coraline snapped. 

The man shook his head, looking back at her with wide eyes. “I-I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I just needed to get your attention um…” he looked just past her shoulder, staring at the space there a minute before speaking again. “Ms. Lovat told me to find you.” Coraline’s grip slackened as her heart stopped. The man slipped out of her hands, towering over her as he met her eyes anxiously. 

Wybie’s grandmother passed away a year ago, and as a result he had taken over management of the Pink Palace. She had stayed with him for a few days to help him clear out the office and get all of the tenant’s paperwork in order. In that time she had never seen Wybie so painfully quiet, and she never wanted to see it again. 

The stranger shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable under her hard glare. He was a lot taller than she was, his limbs scrawny and lanky, she could see the start of several tattoos peaking from underneath his shirt, his hair stood up on end, as if it was full of static. After what seemed like an internal battle, he spoke tentatively. “She’s followed me around for a couple of days. She said that you need help, and that she wouldn’t move on until I agreed talked to you.” 

Coraline stared directly into the stranger’s eyes. “Ms. Lovat died.” She said plainly, suspicion weighing heavily as she took a small step away from the man. 

“I know.” He said quietly. “But she says that Wyborn is worried, and the only way he’ll stop worrying is if you find what you’re looking for.” 

Giddiness began to bubble from within Coraline, “Do you know Wybie? Is he putting you up to this?” she questioned keeping her cool. She didn’t want to get her hopes up too soon. The stranger sighed. 

“I don’t, and this is going to sound really strange, but Ms. Lovat really was here. Her spirit was here just yesterday.” His voice was gentle, almost scared as he relayed the information to her. He stuck out a hand, “I’d like to start over; I’m Norman Babcock. I can see spirits, and I was told that you were looking for me.” 

Coraline could only reply with a sharp bark of laughter as disbelief sank in. She took Norman’s hand, gripping it tightly. “Norman, believe me when I say that we have a lot to talk about.” 

___

Cat lay languidly on Norman’s counter as the two of them talked into the late hours of the night. Coraline told him everything, about the apartment, the Other World and its inhabitants, about Wybie and her crazy idea to take a road trip. By the time she had finished her throat was raw. Norman listened intently through everything, asking questions here and there, or making coffee for them both when Coraline paused. He watched quietly as she took a sip from her mug, letting the warm liquid soothe her strained vocal cords. 

In a way that was almost shy, Norman reached for her hand, and she let him take it. He ran his thumb over the light scarring on her knuckles, and she studied the way his nail polish was chipping and the small ghost tattoos that decorated the spaces of his fingers. “I don’t know how to answer your questions, or why you were directed to me,” he began with a dazed kind of look in his eyes. “But something brought you here. It might be coincidence, but I think that it’s a lot more than that.” Norman looked into her eyes, and she saw a faint glimmer in the depths of blue that gave her goose bumps. A crooked smile formed on his lips, “If you’re going to stick around town, you should come by the shop. I need some help, and you said you were trained as a piercer right?” A small laugh burst through Coraline’s lips. 

“You’re a real charmer, aren’t you? Inviting a young girl into your private space, and then into your business. How coy.” She teased, taking her hand back. 

Norman’s face lit up scarlet as he sputtered. “We’re the same age, no need to make it sound creepy.” He sat squirming in his seat as she laughed. 

“Chill out ghost boy, it’s just a joke.” She relented. “But I’ll take you up on that. I already promised myself I wasn’t going home until I figured everything out.” 

She idly played with Cat’s tail as Norman cleaned their mugs, the feline made a small sound before staring intently at her jacket; reminding her of the envelope inside. “Hey Norman,” the taller man whipped around to face her as she pulled the package from the pocket. She handed it to him with a smile, “Neil says hi.” The brunette’s eyes lit as he tore open the seal, chuckling softly before shaking a small object into his palm. 

A small zombie head keychain dangled from his fingers, and Coraline stared at him blankly. “That was it?” she questioned. 

Norman merely shrugged. “If he sent it all this way it means he doesn’t want me to forget him. He’s really sentimental like that. I’ll have to call him tomorrow to help him calm down a little.” His eyes were warm as he hooked the trinket to his keys, already filled with other heads which she assumed also came from the ginger. 

Coraline rubbed absently at the scar on her knee, she had cut it while escaping from the Other World and it never really faded away. She remembered how she had patched it up haphazardly with paper towels and scotch tape, and how the bandage fell off the day after while she explored the woods with Wybie. He had gone on and on anxiously telling her about possible infection while wringing his hands. Effectively scaring her and feeling bad enough after that he bandaged it up himself. She snorted and let her fingers trace over the raised surface beneath her jeans. “Sentimental…” 

That night she stayed on Norman’s couch, who was slightly disturbed that she had been sleeping in the back of her car for so long. Cat curled up in her arms, and for the first time in a long while she slept without a single dream.


End file.
